“He seems like he’d be an interesting teacher.”

Samuel, Shigeru, and Grimr were now seated at the cafe they had seen earlier, though the chattering ladies were gone. They had decided to come back here for lunch, instead of wasting time trying to find another restaurant. Grimr was back in his feline form and curled up on the warm wooden table with his eyes closed.

Shigeru, his mouth full of hot beef stew, gave a non-commital jerk of his head as his only response. Samuel guessed that he was less than impressed with the old mage. He wondered briefly if that was because Shigeru saw himself as a warrior and therefore didn’t care much for the magic, or if it was because Lucian wasn’t that impressive of a figure.

“I mean, I’m sure he won’t be any of the actual teachers.” Samuel continued, in between spoonfuls of his own stew. “But as an Archmage, I’m sure he knows a lot. Possibly even more than the teachers.”

“I don’t know much about magic.” Shigeru finally commented, dabbing at the corner of his mouth with a cloth. “I’m sure he’s reasonably competent.”

“There are only seven Archmages, you know.” Samuel countered. “It’s said to be the most honorable and highest rank within the Guild. It’s said that an Archmage’s opinion isn’t just respected in the Guild, but also in most parts of the country, even the world.”

Wishful thinking. Grimr’s voice came to Samuel. Judging by the fact that Shigeru also turned to stare at the cat, he must have heard it as well. I knew Lucian of old, and he hasn’t changed much.

“How do you mean?” Samuel asked. “He must be good at magic if he’s an Archmage.”

Grimr blinked at him and somehow managed to convey heavy sarcasm in his response. You noticed how he had to take the time to say the spell out loud when he inscribed your robe?

Samuel and Shigeru nodded at the same time, though neither of them understood the significance of this discovery.

It is not required to speak an incantation to use magic. In the old days, we would use magic intuitively, not by talking. The words are only a way to guide the mana. If you are sufficiently focused, you do not need to speak. Not to mention speaking just gives your opponent a chance to counter your magic.

“Hmm,” Samuel said pensively. “If he’s an Archmage, then surely he would be able to use magic without speaking, right?”

He knew it was more wishful thinking than a rational question, but it slipped out before he could stop it. Grimr’s expression seemed to convey that he felt the same way about the statement, which did nothing to help Samuel’s own injured dignity.

Do not make the same mistakes he and others like him did, young Samuel. Do not waste your time on the fancy phrases that accompany spellwork. It may be harder to learn at first, but your command and mastery of your magic will both benefit in the long run. Do not waste your natural talent.

Samuel nodded, not trusting himself to speak for the moment. His indignation from only a few seconds prior seemed to have passed, and now he felt two warring emotions inside him, clawing for supremacy. On one hand, he was gratified by what Grimr had said and felt pleased that the Ancient had such faith in him. On the other, he was genuinely mortified by the weight of expectation that was being placed upon him.

He was expected to find a fallen god who had been lost to the ages. Moreover, he was supposed to become his champion, and prove to be a worthy representative. These things may not have been explicitly stated to him, but he knew they were requirements of the job, even if he was just starting his schooling.

Shigeru scraped his bowl clean and stuffed the last of his bread into his mouth. “Well, we’d better be off. The bell should ring at any moment, and you want to be on campus by the time that happens.”

Samuel looked up from his own empty bowl in surprise. “We? You want to come with me?”

Shigeru flashed a small grin in his direction. “I have nothing better to do. Besides, you seem like an interesting fellow, and as I have no plans, I’d like to assist you in yours.”

“Why do you want to help me?” Samuel asked, not sure why he was questioning Shigeru’s intent. “I’m about to head down a path laden with magic and books and studying. You’re a warrior. What would make you take any interest?”

Shigeru was busy picking up his bowl and pushing his chair back into the table. By the time Samuel had asked the final question, he was already halfway into the cafe, and so could pretend not to have heard the question. Realizing that Shigeru was already out of sight, he popped the last scrap of his own bread into his mouth and hastened to catch up. They both left their bowls inside with the owner and departed after offering their compliments on the stew.

Making their way back to the Guild grounds, Samuel found himself glancing more often at Shigeru out of the corner of his eye. He thought about how the foreigner had begun sticking to his side more often recently and wondered at the reason. He was tempted to ask Shigeru what his plan was, but was hesitant to bring it up again. It was a rather intrusive question after all, and he no longer had the context of their earlier conversation to justify asking it so boldly.

The rest of Samuel’s afternoon passed in a blur. He went from class to class, listening to the different teachers explaining what their classes were about. For the most part, Samuel learned, they were focused on six specific schools of magic. It was only after he had attended all six classes that Samuel began to get an understanding of how the College worked.

Each class was taught by a different teacher, a former student who, while still studying in their own time, was employed by the Guild to make sure that the younger apprentices were properly introduced to the right bits of knowledge at the right time. Like teachers the world around, they seemed to love sharing their knowledge and were always keen to demonstrate the features of their chosen school.

The first class Samuel attended was Alchemy. It was, as Samuel had expected, a very quiet class full of studious apprentices, bent on learning the subtle science of potion and poison making, and experimenting with various materials, discovering how each one could be used in magic. The sigil for the Alchemy school was a rather simple glass vial, with bubbles rising out of the neck. This sigil was plastered everywhere in the classroom, as well as the back of the robes of their teacher, a pale woman with dark hair and grey eyes. She introduced her self as Siara Silver, daughter to the illustrious Augustus Silver, current Archmage of Alchemy.

After Alchemy was Restoration. Samuel found this to be an interesting class, albeit without the heavy stupor he found himself in after being exposed to the many herbs and chemicals all used in healing. The Master of this class, Cinda Kiinor, was an engaging, kind-faced woman who regarded her late arrival with warmth and generosity, offering a kind explanation on Restoration. According to her, it was all about the study of how magic interacted with the body, and the field was dedicated to studying and perfecting healing magics.

Following that was the class on Destruction magic. This was an excitable enough class, taught by a devilishly handsome man known as Aryn Rainhall, whose first remonstrations to Samuel was never to underestimate the destructive power of magic. It was a powerful tool, he said, as long as the one who used it exercised true control, and never lost their grip on it. Aryn conducted several practical demonstrations for the class, creating small fires that he sent whizzing around the room, and tiny thunderstorms that never left the area between his hands.

Transmutation seemed to be the complete opposite of Destruction, at least from Samuel’s perspective. While both schools regarded magic as a tool, the Master, Otis Astori, insisted that magic was best used to solve troubles and problems, much like the key to a puzzle. Samuel, who at first thought that Transmutation was like Alchemy, soon found out that he was quite wrong. As Otis Astori said, everything had some kind of magic to it, and schooling in Transmutation allowed one to draw power from many different sources, and use something’s true nature to one’s own benefit.

Even Shigeru seemed impressed by Master Astori’s description of his chosen school. Leaning towards Samuel, he spoke in a faint whisper only audible at that short distance. “That one thinks like a warrior. I was taught to find new ways to use my own power, and that all movement on the field is a weapon if you use it properly.”

Unfortunately, for Samuel’s sake, the blue-robed figure at the front of the class had noticed the exchange. “Perhaps our young foreign guest would like to expound on the idea of how Transmutation can be used?”

The entire class turned to face Shigeru, some barely hiding looks of mild amusement. Apprentices always enjoyed seeing someone else singled out for a misdeed. It tended to shine the light away from their own faults and failings.

Vultures. Grimr growled, noticing this reaction as well. Shigeru, however, paid the cat no mind. He stood and bowed towards the master. “My apologies, Master Astori. I did not mean to disrupt your lecture.”

Astori looked taken aback for a moment. Perhaps he’d expected Shigeru to either stammer or bluster, Samuel thought as he hid a grin. Then the teacher’s sharp eyes focused on him, and he swallowed nervously.

“Bragg! Come to the front of the class and demonstrate how you would solve a problem using the principles of Transmutation.” Astori’s eyes were hard, issuing a silent challenge that Samuel could not ignore or avoid.

He cast Shigeru a slightly annoyed look then rose from where he sat, shuffling to the front of the classroom. The collective gaze of the class followed him as he approached Master Astori, and he could practically feel their eagerness as he watched his feet, making sure not to stumble over the tangle of rugs and desk legs. Finally, he reached the front of the room and decided it was safe to look up.

Astori held his hand out, and his palm began to glow. He’s not using an incantation, Samuel thought. Did that mean that he was a mage to be respected?

A large rock had formed in Astori’s hand. He placed it upon his desk where the entire class could see it, then gestured to it with one hand. “Pretend that this is a large boulder that is blocking your path. There is no way around it, and you must reach the other side to reach your goal.”

Samuel looked at Astori, having to lower his head a little to do so, then glanced back at Grimr, as if seeking guidance. The cat blinked at him in the usual manner, and Samuel was sure that he’d offer no advice or assistance. Taking a deep breath, Samuel began to think through the problem. He thought hard for several minutes, ignoring the fact that several of the other students were fidgeting impatiently. Finally, he looked up at Master Astori.

“I just have to get it out of the way? I don’t need to preserve or salvage anything from it, do I?”

Astori shook his head, studying his concentrated face closely. “Just get rid of the rock in your own way.”

Samuel nodded and focused once more on the rock. It was a bit difficult to imagine it as a huge boulder that was blocking his path, but he supposed the answer to the question was a simple one. Or is that what Astori wanted him to believe? Was this a trick question, to which there could be no right answer? Samuel pushed the thought from his mind, refusing to doubt his actions before he’d even decided on one. He lifted both his hands over the rock and began to channel his mana into it.

Channeling was much easier than the first time, he noticed and wondered briefly at the reason for a few seconds. No, focus on the rock, he told himself. He tried to work his mana throughout the rock, trying to fill it completely with energy, so that he could dominate the rock. It worked. His own mana coursed through and within the rock, a small swirling pool of power that was his to control. Then he pushed the power out and down, imagining that he could pull the rock down into a powder.

He had no idea if it would work. Perhaps the rock will explode, he thought. But most likely, nothing will happen. Then his jaw dropped open in surprise as, before everyone’s eyes, the rock suddenly turned into a fine clump of dust and settled gently onto the surface of Astori’s desk. There were mutters of surprise around the room that matched his own astonishment. The only ones who didn’t look surprised were Grimr, as usual, and Astori.

“Well done, Bragg. Perhaps not the most efficient use of mana, but it was a good idea in any event.”

“Thank you, Master Astori.” He shuffled back to his own desk, feeling a little more certain of himself. Then one of his classmates raised a question that wiped the feeling away.

“Wouldn’t it be quicker just to blast the boulder out of the way?” A red-haired boy in grey robes stood up, addressing the teacher.

“Yes, it would be quicker.’ Astori replied. “Is that the action you would have chosen, Acolyte Kiinor?”

Kiinor? Samuel thought quickly. Wasn’t that the name of one of his previous teachers, for the school of Restoration? Now that he had the thought, he realized that Cinda Kiinor had also had the same red hair, and their features seemed to match each other.

“Of course.” the Kiinor boy said. “The point of magic is to use it efficiently, isn’t it?

“Spoken like the true grandson of the Archmage of Destruction,” Astori said, his eyes glinting with the expression of a master fisher who’d just baited a slow catch onto the hook. “Tell me, then, what of the people who were behind and beside you, depending on you to guide and protect them?”

Kiinor opened his mouth to reply at once, then closed it, flushing furiously. A low rumble of chuckles sounded in the room. It seemed to come from one of the back corners, Samuel thought, where there were several students in green robes sat, looking over at Kiinor with superior disdain.

“You didn’t say anything about other people being there.” He protested. “You just said he had to deal with the rock.”

“It never does well to assume you know the entire situation without properly examining it,” Astori said, an amused look about him. “Fine then. What if it were just you? It’s a big boulder, after all, so how do you protect yourself from the flying debris?”

Kiinor shrugged, once more sure of his ground. “I’d have my shield up to protect me.”

Astori raised an eyebrow at that. “So you’d cast two spells to accomplish one simple task? That doesn’t sound very efficient, now does it?”

More quiet chuckles from the corner full of green. Astori glanced at them once to silence them, then turned to Samuel. “I stand by what I said, Bragg. Well done. Perhaps you have an affinity for Transmutation. I look forward to seeing you in my classes more often from now on.”

Just then, the bell rang, and the class gathered up their books, heading out of the room. The boy named Kiinor stayed just long enough to glare resentfully at Samuel, then stomped out after his classmates. Samuel wasn’t long in following.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. He went next to the class on Divination, which was an interesting subject, taught by a shockingly beautiful blonde woman. It was also apparently her first time teaching. At first, the class was disrupted by several jokes and catcalls, but Samuel, who sat in the far back corner, noticed a faint spark of anger in the woman’s eyes and crouched down in his seat as if awaiting an explosion.

That had been followed by an hour-long rant, in which the woman revealed herself to be the newest Archmage. Her name was Rachel Ashara, and she apparently had inherited the post of Archmage for her distinguished efforts in inventing a new type of magic used to locate criminals. It was called God’s Eye, and Samuel had heard of it before his trip to Milagre had commenced. It was a revolutionary spell that was loaded into a device and thrown into the air. If it was charged with the mana or essence of a target, the device would pursue the target until it found it, at which time it would stick to them and emit a magical signal that could be easily tracked by imperial mages.

At this revelation, the class quickly fell into order. The rest of the class consisted of everyone dutifully taking notes as Rachel Ashara shared with them several of her experiences in using Divination, which focused on using magic across large distances to locate people or objects. Samuel tapped his finger on his desk in deep thought, pondering the implications of the school.

Finally, Samuel attended the last class of the day, centered around the school of Travel. Mystified by the title at first, wondering how magic could be used for travel, Samuel quickly learned that it was much more than moving from one place to another. Masters in the field of Travel could move entire groups of men, and some of the more famous, like their teacher Archmage Henrik Wembly, had made entire buildings disappear. According to Wembley, the school of Travel detailed mastering the connection between planes of existence, whether it be for travel or summoning.

As the final bell of the day rang, Samuel looked up in surprise to see that the sky was already dark, and the class was empty save for himself, Shigeru, and Grimr. The cat looked to be napping, and Shigeru was fiddling with a frayed hem on his sash but looked round as Samuel stood.

“Going home now, I assume?” Shigeru asked as he stretched himself.

Samuel nodded. “I expect Arthur is going out of his mind, wondering where I am so late in the day. And I’m hungry.”

Shigeru made a small noise of agreement and nudged Grimr. The cat opened its eyes and stretched luxuriously. Finally. Travel is a boring subject.

“What makes you think so?” Samuel asked as he led the way out of the classroom. The corridor outside the classroom was packed with students in little groups. They were in no rush now, so stood about discussing classes, or otherwise choosing what they would do with their free time.

Travel is easy. All you have to do is know where you’re going, and how fast you want to get there.

It might be easy to an Ancient such as yourself, Samuel retorted in his mind. But for us mere mortals, it is probably more difficult.

Nonsense. I learned Travel magic from a mortal. He was a very wise human, and master over all schools of magic.

Samuel didn’t turn to look at Grimr as he responded but kept leading the way to the exit of the campus. Sometimes, he thought, the Ancient had a penchant for speaking in mysterious ways. He almost seemed to enjoy leaving Samuel scratching his head, trying to decode his solemn comments.